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ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - Over the next seven years more than €14 billion will be available to Western Balkan countries as EU pre-accession aid to facilitate their integration into the European Union, a conference called "IPA III: Connecting people beyond borders" was told in the southern Croatian coastal city of Split on Monday. "IPA III (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) will be the most important tool for the European Union in its enlargement policy in the coming years. With a historic budget of more than €14 billion, the EU has reaffirmed its commitment to support the Western Balkan countries with their reform…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - As part of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs on Monday held, in cooperation with the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, a panel debate on the EU's future global and regional role. The panel debate was held at Dubrovnik's Lazzarettos buildings, once used as a quarantine station during the Ragusa Republic era. The aim of the panel debate, entitled "Preparing for tomorrow: The European Union's Global and Regional Role," was to encourage discussion, particularly among young people, on the EU's geopolitical and strategic issues. The European Commission Vice President for…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - Croatia is among ten EU member states that have signed an initiative for a stronger EU shift to nuclear energy as an effective way of combating climate change and for decarbonization of the economy, government said on its website on Monday. To win the fight for climate, we need nuclear energy. For all of us that is a key and reliable tool for a low carbon future, says the declaration titled Why Europeans Need Nuclear Energy, signed on behalf of Croatia by the Minister of Finance, Zdravko Marić, and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development,…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - The Croatian railway system should be restructured and upgraded to the European level by 2030, with the value of related projects estimated at €5.4 billion, it was said at a conference organized by the Hanza Media publishing company in Zagreb on Monday.  Addressing the event, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butković said that current investments in the transport sector totaled just above HRK 25 billion, with investments in the railway sector accounting for about 11 billion. "As a sector, the railway is in a neglected state and it is a major challenge for the government to build, modernize and…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - The Croatian Firefighting Association (HVZ) on Monday presented results of this year's fire season, noting that the season was extremely warm but that the number of wildfires was 20% down from 2020.   There were 3,004 wildfires this year against 3,778 in 2020. The area consumed by wildfires this year was 59% smaller compared to last year, but during the peak season, from June to September, the increase in the size of the area consumed by wildfires compared to 2020 was as much as 400%. Two civilians were killed, 11 firefighters, five civilians injured In the entire fire…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović on Monday said that he did not have any new information related to videos of police violence against migrants and that it is necessary to wait for the results of the investigation. "We'll wait and see what the results of the investigation show. Everything that will happen as part of the relevant procedures will be in line with what the police chief said on Friday," Božinović told reporters. Protecting the borders in line with the law Asked about responsibility in the chain of command, Božinović underscored that the orders are to protect the state borders…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - The Constitutional Court on Monday re-elected its president Miroslav Šeparović for another four-year term in office, the court said in a press release. Šeparović has been at the helm of the court since 2016. His new term expires on 12 October 2025. The president of the Constitutional Court is elected at a closed session by secret ballot, and seven out of 13 votes are necessary for the Court's head to be chosen. Šeparović has been head of the Constitutional Court since 2016. He was first elected in June 2016, and in October 2017 he was…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - The Zagreb Holding utility conglomerate could soon be subjected to debt enforcement over the debt of several dozens of millions of kuna, Jutarnji List daily reported on Monday. According to the daily, the potential debt enforcement was initiated by the Reoma waste management company, which on Friday sent enforcement documents to the Čistoća public sanitation company. The reason, they said, is that Holding hasn't paid them HRK 14 million for the removal of bulky waste. Also, the Ce-Za-R company, connected with C.I.O.S. owner Petar Pripuz, is today also initiating debt enforcement collection against Holding, they confirmed,…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - Croatian Mirela Kardašević clinched a bronze medal at the Free Diving World Championship in Kaş, Turkey, setting a new Croatian record. In the free diving discipline CNF (constant weight without fins) with a 63-meter dive, she set the national record and won medals in both pool and depth world championships. The CMAS 5th Free Diving World Championship Outdoor took place in Turkey from 30 September to 10 October. "Bronze at a depth world championship is a great success for me since I have very little time for preparation for depth. I am one of the few divers competing…

ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - Croatia has registered 170 new coronavirus infections and six related deaths over the past 24 hours, and the number of active cases stands at 8,285, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday. There are 868 COVID patients in hospitals, and 131 are on ventilators. Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia recorded its first case, a total of 418,028 people have been registered as having contracted coronavirus, 8,778 of them have died, and 400,965 have recovered, including 1,302 in the last 24 hours. There are currently 17,029 people in self-isolation. To date, a total…